Friday, August 16, 2013

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Lutheran Confessions

Here in America, the separation of Church and State is
tossed around, and used (or misused) to serve many agendas, while oftentimes
forgetting what the Constitution actually says, or what it means. At the time of the Reformation, and for
faithful Christians today, it is important to confess the good gift of order
and authority that exists in both the Church and the State. Lutherans have confessed the doctrine of “Two
Kingdoms” and have continually acknowledged that both are the LORD’s, and both
serve His purposes. Check it out!

Collect
of the Week (Proper 14-C)

Almighty
and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people who offer
acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith, and not by sight, in the
way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Article
XVI (Civil Government)

1
Our churches teach that lawful civil regulations are good works of God. 2
They teach that it is right for Christians to hold political office, to serve
as judges, to judge matters by imperial laws and other existing laws, to impose
just punishments, to engage in just wars, to serve as soldiers, to make legal
contracts, to hold property, to take oaths when required by the magistrates,
for a man to marry a wife, or a woman to be given in marriage [Romans 13; 1
Corinthians 7:2].

3
Our churches condemn the Anabaptists who forbid these political offices to
Christians. 4 They also condemn those who do not locate
evangelical perfection in the fear of God and in faith, but place it in
forsaking political offices. 5 For the Gospel teaches an
eternal righteousness of the heart (Romans 10:10). At the same time, it does
not require the destruction of the civil state or the family. The Gospel very
much requires that they be preserved as God’s ordinances and that love be
practiced in such ordinances. 6 Therefore, it is necessary
for Christians to be obedient to their rulers and laws. 7 The
only exception is when they are commanded to sin. Then they ought to obey God
rather than men (Acts 5:29) (Concordia:
The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO:
Concordia Publishing House, 2005, S. 39).

Note:

It was important for
Lutherans to make clear they did not share the beliefs of the radical reformers
of the sixteenth century. Some of these radicals rejected all forms of order
and authority, in both Church and State, even rejecting their homes and families
in order to be “super spiritual.” This article points to the biblical doctrine
of the two kingdoms, a way of speaking about God’s care for us spiritually
though the Church and temporally through the various orders in society;
chiefly, home and government. Christians live out their various callings in
life in service to God and their fellow humans, doing so in the stations, or
situations, to which God has called them. (See also Ap
XVI.) (Concordia: The Lutheran
Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing
House, 2005, S. 39).

Prayer

Almighty, everlasting God, for our
many sins we justly deserve eternal condemnation. In Your mercy You sent Your
dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who won for us forgiveness of sins and
everlasting salvation. Grant us a true confession that, dead to sin, we may be
raised up by Your life-giving absolution. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may
be ever watchful and live true and godly lives in Your service; through Jesus
Christ, our Lord (LSB, collect #153).